Best for Colorado Program Launches

On November 29th, the Alliance Center in Denver will host a launch party for a new program that allows companies of any size in Colorado to measure and improve their social and environmental impact. By qualifying for the Best for Colorado certification, companies can connect with resources to help improve the way they affect the world around them.

Brenna Simmons St. Onge of the Alliance Center says The Best for Colorado Program is based on of the B corps system, a certification tool that assesses companies to help achieve higher standards.

“The B Corp movement really is an international movement for companies who want to use their force for good. The whole premise is that businesses can exist can exist beyond just profit. Businesses can have values and missions other than padding the pockets of the wealthy.”

After becoming a B Corp company, products sold are branded with the B Corp logo so consumers can easily find products made by companies who actively assess and push to improve their impact. B Corp evaluates companies by four main categories: good governance, good workforce treatment and practices, community involvement and environmental effects.

“The Power of the B Corp movement is that it actually takes a very broad view of what is the impact of our companies, and how do we help them improve to increase their positive impact, like philanthropy and volunteerism and decrease their negative impacts, like waste and energy consumption.”

Simmons St. Onge says that while B Corp certification is not required to be in the Best for Colorado program, companies can look at the Best for Colorado program as a gateway to start creating a positive Impact in the ways they go about business.

“[Best for Colorado] measures impact across the same four areas… but it does so in a much more entry-level way… when I took the assessment for the alliance, I think it took me 40 minutes, and I was done. It’s not hours or months, it’s not a huge financial investment, but it does have a lot of benefits to offer the companies as a baseline for performance, and a roadmap for how to increase their positive impact.”

The Best for Colorado program is being officially launched Thursday November 29th at the Alliance Center in Denver, at 5:30 pm. Governor-elect Jared Polis will be attending the event.

The Alliance Center in Denver is a nonprofit that supports other mission aligned non profits with an event and collaborative working space where the network of nonprofit partners can collaboratively create sustainability-focused solutions.

Listen to Brenna Simmons St. Onge talk about the work of the Alliance Center.

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